Disney World is said to be the most magical place on earth. It is a place where people can forget about the real world for a while Enjoy a Disney vacation that feels disconnected from the concerns and complications of reality. Unfortunately, there is one thing that many people cannot forget, except the increasingly higher Disney World pricesare their allergies. For many, navigating menus can be a life-threatening experience. That’s why the allegations against a former Disney employee accused of altering allergy information on Disney World restaurant menus are so troubling.
A criminal complaint has been filed with the police US court for the Middle District of Florida against a man named Michael Scheuer. According to the complaint, Scheuer was fired for undisclosed misconduct, and in response, he used passwords that had not yet been deactivated to make significant changes to the menus of many Disney World restaurants. Although the complaint does not state where Scheuer worked, 404media reports that the man worked for Disney and that the menus in question were for Disney World locations.
Scheuer’s job at Disney was to work as part of the company that created printed menus for Disney World restaurants through a software program created specifically for Disney. Many of the changes to the menus that Scheuer allegedly made were “benign,” as the complaint says. This included changing prices, adding profanity and changing fonts to wingdings, which use symbols instead of letters.
One other change, however, could have been significantly more dangerous. The allergen information was reportedly changed, specifically stating that certain items were safe for those with a peanut allergy, despite this not being the case. Obviously, this could have resulted in many people getting sick or worse.
Fortunately, the problems with the menu creation software were reportedly discovered before any of the modified menus made it into the public’s hands. Yet it is not difficult to imagine what could have happened if the menus with incorrect allergen information had reached the resort.
This isn’t the only allergy-related issue Disney World is currently dealing with. Disney World and the Raglan Road restaurant in Disney Springs have been sued by the family of a woman who died of a severe allergic reaction after eating at the restaurant.
A lawsuit made headlines earlier this year after Disney tried to have the case dismissed due to a lawsuit controversial use of Disney+ terms of service. Disney has since ran back from that defense. The two events have nothing to do with each other. The change to menus took place months after the woman’s death. Raglan Road is also not a Disney-owned restaurant, so it likely doesn’t get its menus from the same source.
Disney World has a Michelin star restaurant so the resort’s guests are not necessarily huge theme park fans, but simply fans of good food. As someone who loves eating at Disney World and has a child with a non-fatal allergy, I’ve relied on Disney Parks menus to feed my own family, so it’s more than a little scary that something truly terrible could have happened.